Fass Class: An Education in Michael Fassbenderby White Rabbit on 17 September 2011

The ascent to stardom has been a strong and steady process for German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender. A decade in the making, his body of work displays capability, versatility and great deal of good old gumption. If you haven’t heard his name at least once this year, it’s time you came out from under that huge boulder you must’ve been trapped beneath, and say hello to Hollywood’s latest A-Lister.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of ten of Fassy’s must-see features, complete with trailers and trivia to help educate you in the masterful ways of Fassbender, and how the talented fellow rolls.

Role: SteliosCo-Stars: Gerard Butler, David Wenham, Dominic West, Lena Headey, Rodrigo SantoroGenre: Action-FantasyDirector: Zack snyderSynopsis: King Leonidas and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.Fassbender on Stelios: “He’s very spontaneous, very passionate, and he’s the kind of guy that this sort of opportunity is a dream come true for him, to take part in such a history battle and go down with the names of all the greats – Achilles, and all the gods of war [...] I mean I know that all the Spartans are sort of in that direction, but I think he sort of, definitely encompasses all those things.” (video)Trailer:

Eden Lake – 2008

Role: SteveCo-Stars: Kelly Reilly, Jack O’Connell, James Gandhi, Thomas TurgooseGenre: HorrorDirector: James WatkinsSynopsis: Loved up couple Steve and Jenny (Reilly)’s romantic getaway dissolves into a nightmare when they are targeted and tormented by a gang of violent youths.Review Snippet: Seriously bloody horrible in every particular, and uncompromisingly bleak to the very end, this looks to me like the best British horror film in years: nasty, scary and tight as a drum. It is a violent ordeal nightmare that brutally withholds the longed-for redemptions and third-act revenges, offering only a nihilist scream and a vicious satirical twist in our perceived social wounds: knife-crime, gangs and the fear of a broken society. (TheGuardian)

Hunger – 2008

Role: Bobby SandsCo-Stars: Liam Cunningham, Liam McMahon, Gerry Campbell, Stuart GrahamDirector: Steve R. McqueenGenre: DramaSynopsis: Based on real events, Hunger centers on the republican leader of the 1981 Irish hunger strike, Bobby Sands.Trivia: The scene which features a conversation between Sands and a Catholic priest about the decision to go on hunger strike was filmed in one continuous 16-minute take on the first day of filming in Northern Ireland and took Michael Fassbender and co-star Liam Cunningham four attempts to complete. (IMDB)Trailer:

Inglourious Basterds – 2009

Role: Lt. Archie HicoxCo-Stars: Christoph Waltz, Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Jacky Ido, Daniel BrühlDirector: Quentin TarantinoGenre: War Drama-AdventureSynopsis: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.Trivia: British actor Simon Pegg was originally set to play Lt. Archie Hicox but was forced to pull out of the project because of scheduling conflicts. Michael Fassbender replaced him. (IMDB)Trailer:

Fish Tank – 2009

Role: ConnorCo-stars: Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Harry TreadawayDirector: Andrea ArnoldGenre: DramaSynopsis: A tempestuous teenager’s (Jarvis) life is disrupted by the arrival of her mother’s new boyfriend (Fassbender).Trivia: Critically acclaimed Fish Tank won Michael Fassbender much recognition, and his supporting performance was multi-award nominated. He notably won the 2009 London Critics Circle Film award for British Supporting Actor.Trailer:

Centurion – 2010

Role: Centurion Quintus DiasCo-stars: Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, David Morrissey, Paul Freeman, Noel ClarkeDirector: Neil MarshallGenre: Historical thrillerSynopsis: A group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is decimated in a devastating guerrilla attack.Trivia: Neil Marshall shot the film in such hard conditions that cast suffered some health problems. As written in the Independent: Noel Clarke recovered from frostbite. JJ Feild quit smoking because of hypothermia. Michael Fassbender survived shirtless sprinting in sub-zero temperatures to become the next Daniel Craig. (IMDB)Trailer:

Jane Eyre – 2011

Role: RochesterCo-Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Sally Hawkins, Judi Dench, Harry Lloyd, Jamie BellDirector: Cary FukunagaGenre: Romantic DramaSynopsis: A fresh adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s beloved novel of the same name. An unassuming but strong-willed young woman (Wasikowska) captures the heart of her wealthy and Byronic employer (Fassbender), who harbors a dark past.Trivia: “There was a horse on the third day of filming [when] we were shooting the scene where Jane and Rochester meet, and every time Michael hopped on the horse it got a huge erection,” Wasikowskia remembered. “And he’d get off and they’d run the poor thing around the block to try to make it go away, and he’d hop on it again and it would happen all over again, and they’d have to get him off and run it around.” (HuffingtonPost)Trailer:

X-Men: First Class – 2011

Role: Erik Lehnsherr / MagnetoCo-Stars: James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas HoultGenre: Action-AdventureDirector: Matthew VaughnSynopsis: When power-mad Hellfire Club leader Sebastian Shaw (Bacon) threatens to start World War III, the US Government enlists the services of a group of mutants, whose involvement leads to the origins of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants.Trivia: To prepare for his role as Erik Lensherr, Michael Fassbender studied Sir Ian McKellen’s performance as Lensherr in the previous X-Films, but also looked through the comics as he decided to make his own version of Magneto: “You want to respect what someone else has done, especially because the fan base really liked what Ian has done with it. But while I could have gone and studied him as a young man and brought that to the performance, I don’t think Matthew is very interested in that. So I’m just going my own way and working with whatever is in the comic books and the script.” (IMDB)Trailer:

Role: Carl JungCo-Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel, Sarah GadonDirector: David CronenbergGenre: Drama-ThrillerRelease Date: November 23 2011Synopsis: The relationship between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Fassbender) is challenged by the dramatic arrival of a disturbed Russian beauty, Sabina Spielrein (Knightley).Trivia: The movie premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and was in the running for the Golden Lion.Trailer: